As a surveyor, farmer, and investor, Washington was constantly looking for opportunities to harness and manage natural resources and agricultural production for his own economic interest and for the nation and communities he built.

PRIMARY SOURCES

George Washington’s “Compend of Husbandry” Notes

These two pages contain George Washington’s handwritten notes on the 1785 book A New System of Husbandry by Charles Varlo. In these notes, Washington records various agricultural experiments he tried as well as advice and techniques from agricultural writers of his time.

In this June 20, 1762 letter to his British creditors, George Washington discusses the difficulty of raising tobacco as a cash crop, his dissatisfaction with the colonial import system, and the trials of raising tobacco as a cash crop.

eorge Washington’s first career, as a surveyor for Culpeper County in 1749, introduced him to a skill set he would use throughout his lifetime as he acquired new lands, defended his property boundaries, and divided his land holdings into profitable farms. This “circumferentor” or plain compass aided Washington in completing his surveys.

Samuel Vaughan, a wealthy English merchant, visited Mount Vernon in August 1787 and recorded a written description and the earliest known sketch of the estate in his journal. He sent a copy of the sketch to George Washington later that year. This sketch provides incredible insight into how the estate appeared during Washington’s life.

This letter written in the midst of the Siege of Boston details the General’s instructions to his cousin and farm manager, Lund Washington, regarding wages for workers, hospitality to be shown, and precautions against enemy attacks at Mount Vernon.